How to Turn Off Hunger and Cravings in 5 Minutes
Aug 01, 2024Why You Want To Know
Here's a quick summary of how I see people improve multiple areas of their lives when they learn how to turn off their hunger and cravings:
SLEEP: If you don't eat 3-5 hrs before bed, you will have much better sleep quality. Your sleep quality defines your quality of health and well-being - do I need to say more?
BODY COMPOSITION: If you want to stay on a diet (for slimming or fitness) and see consistent predictable results, managing your hunger/cravings is key.
MIND: It increases your confidence when you know you can stick to your intentions and goals - whether it is eating out less or excelling at work or interpersonal relationships. Often, random hunger makes all those aspirations harder - especially when shit hits the fan. Knowing that you have the tools to delay your next meal by about 2-3 hours at any given time gives you leverage to succeed anyway.
Client Example
Please enjoy this sneak peek into my Fat Release Program (for slimming or fitness) through the story of one of my stellar clients, Ahn.
Edit Image
Ahn's success in the Fat Release Program is some of the best I've ever seen.
Her goal is to release 9-10 kgs - an achievement that takes many people years. But she's halfway there in under half a year.
After we found her personalized calorie release and calorie momentum numbers, she's been killing it.
Over the past 5 months, she's lost an average of almost 1 kg per month and just celebrated her "halfway there!" in the gorgeous mountains of BC with her partner.
To say she was overjoyed would be an understatement. To see her personal feedback after finishing Phase I of the Fat Release Program, take a look here.
The other day, following months of great success, she asked me a great question.
Ahn has recently been having to work more overtime in her 9-5 than usual, so she asked me how she could stay within her calorie budget for the day if she came home hungry.
Let me show you what I shared with her because you might be surprised at how easy it is to turn off your hunger (and even cravings) by trying one of my top two tools for turning off hunger.
My Top 2 Recommendations to Turn Off Hunger
Specific recommendation examples linked:
-
Bone broth (1-3 scoops in 125-250mL hot water), OR
-
Fiber (1-2 scoops in 125mL-250mL glass of water, please read instructions below)
I recommend having both available, but starting with one is great too.
Why Bone Broth?
Considering how nutritionally poor our modern food supply is (mostly due to nutrient-depleted topsoil) I see over and over again how most food cravings and hunger come from a deeper nutritional deficiency within us rather than due to a need for more calories (total available energy in food).
What this means is that even if you eat something highly nourishing but rather low in calories, you could end up feeling much more sated than if you ate something low in nutrients but high in calories.
I'll never forget a study once done on a group of people who were asked to eat as much as they wanted (of anything) until satiation. The ultra-processed food group eaters ate an average of 500 calories more every day. That's 3500 extra calories a week. That's equivalent to about 1 lb of extra fat gained per week.
That's the power of nutrients over calories.
One of the easiest-to-access high-quality nutrient-dense foods in the modern world is grass-fed and grass-finished powdered bone broth. It is also a traditional food full of micronutrients and healthy protein, both of which increase true satiety.
Take 1-3 scoops (which usually comes with the container) in hot water and enjoy. One scoop is around 60 calories. I highly recommend adding good quality mined salt to it (like Redmond Salt from the USA), as it brings out the best flavors.
Why Fiber?
This tool works because certain fiber feeds beneficial gut bacteria. Some gut bacteria influence your satiety more than others, including the specific fiber I linked to in my recommendation.
This tool also works because it fills your stomach with more than just water. Water alone will stave off hunger and cravings for a short time, but if you add fiber, you will feel fuller and enjoy longer satiety.
I recommend people only use this recommendation once or twice per day. Having more fiber isn't necessarily always better and if you suddenly take a large amount of fiber (like 25 grams) after you've barely been having any (typically people eat below 10 grams a day), then your gut will have to readjust. This readjustment can be beneficial in the long term, but if you do too much too fast, then you'll possibly experience constipation, gas, and bloating (the most common three symptoms) for a short time (7-10 days).
That being said if you start slow, which from the fiber I linked means 1 scoop (containing 8 grams of fiber), then most people don't notice any discomfort at all.
Results
Ahn chose to try the fiber option first and it works!
Currently, she keeps her container of fiber at work, ready whenever she needs the backup craving/hunger reliever.
Give it a try yourself and let me know how it goes! Don't overthink it, just start slow (especially with the fiber) and remember that more is not always better. You want the minimum effective dose. That's the gold standard.
Ready to check out the Fat Release Program? Here is your complete short video library collection:
P.S. New Podcasts & Free Guides
New Podcast & Radio Shows for Will to Live Nutrition!
-
Radio Show with the one and only Bill of Maine: Hydrate & Heal with Isabella Thor CNTP
-
Podcast Interview on Mental Matters with Asekho Toto of South Africa: Isabella Thor - Why painful periods are not normal & how to fix it - what men and women wa...
Previous Nutrition Letter & Free Guides:
-
July 2024 Nutrition Letter: "Your Daily Water Intake Goal and Why You Want One."
-
The 5 Steps to PainFREE Periods, available to download here (my whole process in 5 steps; I hold nothing back)! Please share with those you love and might not know that periods/ovulation/etc could be pain-free without painkillers (or invasive surgery).
-
Protein Guide, How to Find Your Personalized Optimal Daily Protein Goal, available for free here - enjoy!.
How To Work With Me
My private functional nutrition practice is currently accepting new clients. Interested new clients are highly recommended to sign up for our complimentary Discovery Call.
Not sure what a Discovery Call is? Here's a video intro - enjoy!
Here are the conditions I help resolve, at isabellathor.com :
Edit Image